One More Day
by Ai Enmaxjigoku shoujo
Summary: Inspired by a scenario I saw on tumblr in which Hinata is Kageyama's guardian angel but they have to go their separate ways once Kageyama turns his life around. What was the point of making all these friends when the only one he really wanted to keep had to leave once it was all said and done? (Combined the first two chapters)
1. 49 Days

Kageyama's hands were clenched at his sides, the fabric of his uniform pants fisted in his palms as he listened to his teacher's lecture.

"This is the third fight this week!" Takeda-sensei was saying, clearly exasperated with him.

He was staring decidedly at the papers on his teacher's desk and his eyes stung in the effort to hold back tears. He couldn't help that he just had a mean face. Even now, holding back tears, he looked more like he was glaring then genuinely upset.

His mom says it's because he is an only child that he has trouble getting along with others, and that in time he'll have plenty of words, but his inability to smile coupled with his lack of a brain to mouth filter had so far prevented any form of a positive relationship with his peers.

The fights really just started without Kageyama ever meaning for them to. Sometimes he would let his temper get ahold of him and he would un-intentionally start the fight by yelling something rude. And other times people would take one look at him and assume he was looking down on them and before Kageyama knew it fists would be flying and he'd have to fight back.

"I'm going to set up a conference with your parents," Takeda was saying and Kageyama thought bitterly that his mother would probably cry. Dad wouldn't but he'd give him that sad disappointed look he gave him whenever Kageyama had done something to upset his mother.

"Kageyama I know you weren't at fault here, but… this kind of behavior is unacceptable. This plus your low grades are all pointing towards a dark path."

He didn't know how or why it had happened but somewhere along the way his attitude and behavior had been misconstrued as delinquent. This was his third strike, his parents would be called, his behavior would go down on his permanent record and he'd never go to a nice college on a volleyball scholarship and his life would be over and his mother would cry so much his father would have to build a boat for them to live in and his dad would have that sad disappointed look the whole time all because of his dumb face and his dumb attitude and—

"So until I've had the meeting with your parents you'll be suspended from school. That means club activities as well. I'm sorry Kageyama."

Kageyama's hands unclenched from his pants in shock. He nodded stiffly, internally grateful he hadn't let his mom cut his bangs last week, so that the long locks could now cover his red-rimmed eyes and the tears he wasn't able to hold back anymore.

* * *

Kageyama could still hear his classmate's whispers when he left school grounds early. Even now as he angrily spiked a volleyball against his backyard fence over and over again - thwack, THwack, THWACK – he could still hear them.

If he listened, he could hear his mom whispering about him to his dad on the phone in the kitchen, but he didn't want to, and so he kept bouncing the ball off the wall – determined to practice twice as hard since he couldn't go to official volleyball practice anyway.

'What does it matter?' he thought angrily, 'It's not like my teammates will miss me.'

In reality, the teammates here at Karasuno were far kinder then the ones he had at his middle-school, but he could tell they easily got exasperated with him – everyone did.

But no matter how nice people were, Kageyama just couldn't change his attitude, and he certainly couldn't change his face – he would know - he's spent hours practicing to smile in front of the mirror and has managed to simultaneously make himself frightened and sad.

This time when the ball bounced back Kageyama caught it in his hands, "Stupid," he grumbled, glaring fiercely at the volleyball, "I'm so stupid."

He squeezed the ball tightly, hands curling, before flinging it at the wall in a fit of anger. But instead of the expected thwack sound there was a dull thudding sound and a grunt.

Kageyama looked up just in time to see an orange-haired boy fall on his butt – the ball rolling off to the side as the stranger buried his face in his knees, both hands up and cupped against his forehead.

"Shit!" was Kageyama's response before he was stumbling towards the boy, hands raised in a gesture to help but not quite close enough to even touch the boy.

"Are you okay?" is probably what he should have asked, but judging by the groaning the answer was a clear no and instead Kageyama was saying, "What are you doing in my yard?!"

The groans immediately stopped, and puffy orange hair swayed as the smaller boy shot his head up – gold brown eyes sparkling with an emotion Kageyama could definitely say he had never had directed at him before – delight. Kageyama noticed there was a rapidly fading red spot smack dab in the middle of the boy's forehead before he was smiling with teeth and then yelling, "You can see me?!"

'Great,' Kageyama thought, 'I gave this kid brain damage.'

The boy shot up – far more energetic then anyone should ever be after taking a ball to the face.

"You can see me!" he repeated, stepping forward to presumably grab his hands, but Kageyama quickly stepped back, evading the touch.

"I'm so relieved!" he was saying, clearly not offended by Kageyama's moving away, "I was trying to ask for directions earlier and everyone was just ignoring me – I even yelled that they were jerks in the middle of the street and no one even looked!"

"And then-"

Kageyama wasn't listening anymore, torn between annoyance and confusion – why was this kid in his yard? Why wouldn't he stop talking? Why was he even talking to him? Most people would have probably told him to watch it and then demand an apology and yet here they were.

"Shut up!" Kageyama finally yelled, effectively shutting up the boy, whose teeth clacked with how quickly he shut his mouth. And great, he looked like he'd seen a ghost – now that was a look Kageyama was used to.

"Y-you trying to pick a fight?" the boy was saying before Kageyama could say anything else, taking a shaky step back but trying to look like Kageyama hadn't just scared him with his outburst.

"No. Get out of my yard." He'd already gotten into one fight already today - he was already suspended from school – he didn't need to be starting anything where his mom could see him. On one hand he wanted to shove the boy out of his yard, but the fear of his mom seeing and thinking he was bullying some middle school kid kept him rooted to his spot.

"But-" the boy started.

"No buts. Just go."

There was a split second of hesitation before the boy was crossing his arms, eyes glowing with mild anger, like Kageyama had done something to personally offend him.

"No need to be a jerk, you jerk!" was the yelled reply, "And I can't leave now – not when someone's finally seen me! I already told you I've been wandering around all day – like hell I'm just gonna go!"

Kageyama glared, and it was both disheartening and satisfying when the other boy trembled under his gaze – if he wouldn't leave then Kageyama would.

"Whatever," he said, before turning on his heel, stomping towards the back door – ignoring the other boy's yelped "Wait!"

He yanked the door open and then swiftly shut it behind him – pleased with the other's indignant "Hey!" before heading up stairs – he would just toss his other volley ball in his room.

He was in a bad enough mood already, he didn't need to deal with someone random trespasser as well. And now because of said trespasser he couldn't even practice outside. He'd swear if he ever had to see that kid again.

"What the heck?!" wasn't quite what he had in mind, but well, it wasn't like he was planning on seeing the kid perched on his bed when he wrenched his bedroom door open.

"What the heck?!" it wasn't any more eloquent the second time around.

* * *

"I'm going crazy."

"Your mom is really pretty."

"I'm really going crazy."

"Oh yeah! I should introduce myself – I'm Hinata Shouyou."

"It's finally happened – I've snapped."

"That's all I can really remember though. I think I'm 15 or something?"

* * *

Shortly after Kageyama's outburst of 'What the heck?!' his mother came up the stairs in a panic.

'What? What's wrong?!' she had asked, a little breathless and Kageyama had pointed at Hinata and explained what happened. You could imagine Kageyama's surprise when his mother told him there was no one sitting on his bed – a comment that had Hinata whining from his spot.

After his mother excused herself downstairs Kageyama figured now would be as good a time as any to have a mental break down – first all the school problems and now he was seeing someone that no one else could.

Hinata – as he had introduced himself – hardly seemed concerned that Kageyama had been crouched on the floor for the past five minutes and instead found it to be an appropriate time to chatter about himself. A fact that normally Kageyama would be annoyed about, but was too busy going insane to worry about.

"… So what's for dinner?" Hinata said after a beat of silence and Kageyama's mumbling stopped abruptly before he was snapping his head up and roaring, "Can't you tell I'm trying to have a mental break down right now?!"

Silence rung between the two of them and Kageyama dropped his head into his hands with a groan. He took a few, long breaths and after he had calmed down a bit – he realized he'd gotten a little ahead of himself. But could you really blame him when there was a boy materializing into his room, one that he could see and interact with and no one else could? If you asked Kageyama he'd say he handled it pretty well.

Once he deemed himself calm enough, he got Hinata to explain himself which turned out not to be much of an explanation at all.

"I feel like this is all I've ever known and yet it all feels so new."

That had been how he explained it.

"I'm kind of like a ghost. Except not because I can't walk through walls or anything – plus you hit me with that ball."

When Kageyama had asked him how he got in his room in the first place he simply said he'd scaled the tree and jumped in through the open window – which was significantly less frightening then Hinata just teleporting wherever he wanted to.

"So I'm thinking it must mean something that you can see me right?"

For claiming to know nothing about the current situation he was in, Hinata sure liked to pretend he knew what he was talking about. Kageyama wasn't having it.

"I'll just ignore you until you leave."

"Like I'd let you!"

They argued for a bit - Kageyama doing his best to keep his voice down lest his mother hear him.

When the arguing led to nowhere, Hinata resorted to begging, "Please Kageyama just let me stay."

Kageyama for one couldn't understand how "I don't want you around" couldn't get any clearer but maybe Hinata was just that dense.

"I won't just free-load, I'll help you out," he whined.

"The only way you could help me out is if you leave."

"No, be serious! Look I'll help you play volleyball and then I can help you make friends so you can play with them when I'm gone."

"You probably don't even know the first thing about volleyball!" was Kageyama's initial remark, and then as an afterthought he added, "And what makes you think I don't have any friends?"

"I do too know about volleyball! I know all kinds of stuff about everything except for me right now but that doesn't matter! And besides, if you had friends you'd be playing volleyball with them and not your wall." Hinata replied, eyes blazing.

Kageyama huffed in response, not having a rebuttal and Hinata sighed – Kageyama could physically see him wilting.

"Look… you're the only one that can see me so far. I… can't remember how things got this way but I think I'm supposed to help you or something. Like maybe if I do a good deed I can like… get my wings or something and move on. It's scary to say but I'm probably dead right? So… let me help you so I can help myself."

Kageyama was silent after the miniature heartfelt speech. He was sure Hinata had no idea what he was talking about, but he had to admit Hinata had a point. If the smaller boy really wasn't some figment of his imagination then maybe Hinata really was a trapped spirit. Surely it meant something that Hinata had found him and that Kageyama could see him in return.

'I need time to think about it,' Kageyama thought – trying to ignore the pitiful looks Hinata was sending him.

He opened his mouth, intent on telling Hinata he'd think about it when his mother's voice carried up the stairs, "Tobio, dinners ready!"

Hinata jumped at the voice, and Kageyama would have laughed if the situation were any different.

"Stay here," he said as he got to his feet, "And I guess I'll bring you food when I'm done."

Hinata didn't say anything and so Kageyama quietly slipped out of his room, shutting the door behind him even though no one would spot Hinata sitting in there anyway.

* * *

The talk he had with his parents was uncomfortable and even more so when his mother asked him about earlier in his room. He came up with a poorly crafted excuse, one that both of his parents seemed skeptical about but neither pressed the issue.

He picked at his food slowly, waiting for his mother and father to finish first before he served himself another bowl of rice and took it up to his room a while later.

Hinata had taken it gratefully, and instead of complaining about not getting anything else like Kageyama thought he would, scarfed down the food with an excited thank you. Kageyama wasn't sure how the whole eating and being physical thing worked with the whole being invisible to everyone else thing but he didn't question it – he was sure Hinata didn't have an answer anyway.

He waited until Hinata was done eating before telling him he could stay. He almost took the words back when Hinata squawked in delight and then tackled him to the floor though. For such a small guy he was pretty heavy.

After he took the dish down stairs Hinata followed him to the bathroom where he proceeded to brush his teeth with his finger and toothpaste while Kageyama brushed his own properly. He guessed he would have to get Hinata a brush some other time.

Hinata showered with him as well which was probably more awkward then it should have been – or at least it was for Kageyama. Hinata didn't seem to find the situation strange at all.

"Hey Kageyama," Hinata said as they sat in the bath together. Kageyama was resolutely staring at the wall, turned away and as far away from Hinata as reasonably possible – why was he in this situation again?

"Do you think if I was splashing the water other people could see?"

"Let's not find out."

"But-"

"-No."

* * *

"Why are you in my bed?" Kageyama asked from where he was standing by the light switch.

"Well where else would I sleep?" Hinata replied as he pulled the covers over himself.

"The floor."

"No way!"

Kageyama had, by now, after only a few hours with this idiot realized there was no use arguing with him, but damn if he did not want to argue with him. If it weren't for the fact his parents might hear him and think he was crazy he would have long since tossed Hinata onto the floor.

It was bad enough he'd already had to lend sleep clothes to the idiot. Earlier Hinata had insisted on taking a bath as well but then spent thirty minutes too afraid to take his clothes off for fear that they'd disappear or something. Which they didn't and Kageyama ended up having to stuff them in between his mattress and bed frame lest his mom find them or something.

Laying out a futon for Hinata was a big no – how would he be able to explain it to his mom when she and if she saw it laying out?

Kageyama sighed – he'd been doing that a lot these past few hours.

"Fine, but you're sleeping by the wall and if you move even an inch onto my side I'm tossing you out the window."

It was a good thing they weren't keeping score, because so far Hinata had won every argument.

'Tomorrow,' Kageyama thought as he flipped the light switch and made his way to the bed, 'Tomorrow I'll set some ground rules.'


	2. 48 Days

If Kageyama had been born into another time period he liked to think he'd be a Spartan – all bad ass and what not. Of course Hinata disagreed, claiming that Kageyama was more like a soccer mom who'd had one too many drinks that morning.

Of course this conversation had come about the following morning when Kageyama shook Hinata awake, already dressed in training gear and with a long list in his hands.

"Rules," Kageyama had said they were – Hinata couldn't fathom why Kageyama had to dress like he was training Hinata for the Olympics but apparently it was a necessary step.

Every argument of theirs led to a discussion on how Hinata didn't know anything and Hinata would retaliate that yes, yes he did he just couldn't remember the important stuff – like why he was in this situation and how to get out of it. Of course Kageyama said it was useless to remember what station played volleyball when he didn't even know who his family was or had been.

If Hinata thought hard enough he could remember things like a poem he read in class once but he couldn't remember the school he had went to or where he used to live. It was as if any personal information that could tell him about his life, or most likely his past life, ceased to exist.

Sometimes thoughts like that got Hinata down and though he knew nothing of his origins he firmly believed that if he helped Kageyama out he would find himself in a better place.

And as they got to know each other Hinata found that Kageyama wasn't just a sour faced idiot – an insult that Kageyama really didn't seem to like as Hinata had found out during their second day together. Kageyama was like a cactus – all prickly and scary to get close to. But inside they were just water – refreshing and a necessity to life. Hinata thought Kageyama was like that. After the short-term suspension had ended Hinata would follow Kageyama to school and subsequently had seen Kageyama play volleyball on the court. It'd be an understatement to say Hinata had been amazed. Kageyama was all gwuah and kyun – very important aspects in volleyball if Hinata said so himself. Kageyama is a setter and though he's not as cool or as flashy as the ace, he was an irreplaceable member.

It was clear Kageyama didn't really get along with his teammates, but Hinata could definitely tell that they appreciated having him on the court. Kageyama sometimes lost his temper easily too but Hinata was sure it was because Kageyama didn't know how else to deal with people. 'He just has trouble expressing himself' Hinata had deduced. And with help from him, Hinata was sure he could get Kageyama to get along well with others. Cacti may be prickly, but with enough sun and encouragement they would flower – Hinata was positive he could help Kageyama with that.

For Kageyama, dealing with Hinata was like trying to look at the sun without sunglasses. It hurt. Hinata was annoying in a way that Kageyama just couldn't handle. He was always stupidly bright and even if Kageyama tried to ignore him Hinata had already left his mark – like the sun on closed eye lids he was still there begging to be seen. Hinata was… is, probably the nicest person Kageyama can say he has had the misfortune to meet. Even when the ball of sunshine was calling him names they lacked any bite and Hinata's angry face made Kageyama's normal face look ten times fiercer – Kageyama wasn't sure how it was possible for someone to be so… cute. But it was a well-known fact that Kageyama didn't do well with cute things – cats hissed at him, dogs barked at him, and babies screamed in terror whenever he was in their vicinity. So the fact Hinata was so stuck on the idea of sticking to him both annoyed Kageyama and yet also made him a teensy bit embarrassed with a sprinkling of gratefulness.

Hinata also sucked at volleyball – it was the first thing after finding out he was annoying that Kageyama had learned about him. The day after they first met Kageyama took Hinata into the backyard to practice – at Hinata's request. The results had been awful. The boy sure talked a big game for not even being able to receive a ball properly.

'I just forgot is all,' his excuse had been, 'It'll all come back to me – like muscle memory or something?' He hadn't sounded too sure.

The next few days of Kageyama's impromptu suspension were spent trying and failing to teach Hinata to receive the ball properly.

"Just toss it to me!"

"Toss it to me!"

Kageyama swore if he ever heard those words again he'd probably fly off the handle.

He did fly off the handle actually. Which led to Kageyama purposely tossing Hinata a hard to receive ball. Which, in retrospect, wasn't a very nice thing to do and in the past such a thing really only served to upset him more but… Hinata was of a special kind.

And by that Kageyama meant Hinata had somehow managed to reach and hit the ball. Granted he didn't hit it well but he had hit it none the less. Kageyama might have been amazed, if Hinata hadn't ruined the moment with his loud shout which sounded like Kageyama imagined a dying bird would sound like.

"Toss it to me again!"

As if.

* * *

"Tell me again what playing volleyball with you has to do with helping me make friends?" it was a valid question Kageyama thought, but Hinata just gave him a look that he was sure as hell translated to 'Are you an idiot?'

"It's about team work Kageyama, team work! You'll freak people out if you just march into school smiling at everybody. It's called being… sub… subt… discreet! You gotta be discreet."

Kageyama wasn't sure if that sounded right but it didn't necessarily sound wrong either.

"So if you start working with your teammates better it'll be less weird when you try to get all friendly with them."

Kageyama scrunched his nose, still staring at Hinata who looked particularly proud of himself, one hand resting on his hip as he gave him that toothy grin of his.

"… Alright. But I still don't see why I have to practice with you." Kageyama finally said and Hinata frowned, though Kageyama had learned that Hinata's frowns looked more like pouts if anything.

"Becauuuuuse," was the whined response, and then after a bit of hesitation, as Hinata very visibly mulled over an answer, "Because I'm older then you and you should listen to your senpai!"

"You're not my senpai dumbass!" Kageyama roared, reaching for the top of Hinata's head, "You don't even know if you're older than me!"

Hinata of course, dodged the attack, hopping backwards on light feet, "Kageyama be nice! If you can't be nice to me how can you be nice to your teammates?"

"Because my teammates aren't annoying like you." Kageyama grumbled, angrily crossing his arms and blowing his bangs out of his eyes with an aggravated huff.

Hinata only laughed, "Look, you're already getting better at friendly banter!"

"I'd hardly call this friendly."

Sometimes Hinata just didn't make any sense to Kageyama. Friendly banter?

Yeah right.

* * *

The first time Hinata had followed Kageyama to class, it had been particularly trying to ignore the smaller boy's need to comment on every little thing. Even harder so to not respond to him – he'd already freaked out some little kid earlier who had seen him swatting at Hinata, or to everyone else, air.

A week later and it wasn't any easier.

"Why don't you go somewhere else?" he had suggested but Hinata claimed he was gathering 'research'. Kageyama figured he would get bored eventually – after all he spent most of Kageyama's class time standing by and looking out the window. He'd wander off sure enough and once he did Kageyama would finally be able to sleep in class.

The first time he dozed off with Hinata there, the brat had smacked him on the back of the head, which made him shoot out of his seat and make a fool of himself in front of the class. It had been awful.

Currently, Kageyama was hunched over in his seat, chin resting in the palm of his hand as he seemingly gazed out the window. Hinata was on his knees, arms resting on the window sill as he looked out – how he could sit like that for so long without his legs hurting was a mystery to Kageyama, but then again Hinata was a mystery in general.

Instead of paying attention to lecture Kageyama wondered what Hinata was thinking about – for the past week, with the exception of that brief moment that first night when Hinata spoke of getting his wings, Hinata had been all smiles.

If it were Kageyama, if he were the one who - for lack of a better explanation - was a wandering spirit, he certainly wouldn't be trying to do some good deed. He'd probably be off crying somewhere and even in the after-life be freaking people out.

Hinata's knowledge about himself was limited and so far he hadn't shown any signs of wanting to know what his life had been like before, or even wondering how he ended up in this situation in the first place.

He was just blindly moving forward – one hundred percent sure that if he did something for Kageyama then everything would be alright. Kageyama didn't know how he could do it.

But in moments like these, watching as Hinata poured all of his attention into looking off at who knows what outside, Kageyama wondered if maybe Hinata was scared and just wasn't showing it.

Twice now, Kageyama had woken up in the middle of the night to find Hinata gone and his bedroom window open, the curtains blowing into the room with the wind. The first night he told himself Hinata had just passed on or something, but Hinata was back in bed the next morning and the window was shut.

The second time it happened Kageyama got up, only to find Hinata perched in the tree outside his window, head upturned as he looked out at the sky. Kageyama hadn't said anything, just quietly snuck back to bed and wondered what the other boy was thinking about.

Though Kageyama wanted to know he didn't have the heart to ask. He thought maybe Hinata was thinking about his past life or anything along those lines really. His mom was always telling him to talk about his feelings, and that it would help. But Kageyama wasn't one for that.

He was afraid if he asked, Hinata would seek comfort from him and Kageyama didn't think he could do that. He wasn't good at words – wasn't good for anything but volleyball and even with that he lacked the social skills to truly become great at it.

Hinata told him daily that he was getting better at being friendly but Kageyama didn't think so – it was just blind optimism on Hinata's part.

After all, if Kageyama truly were getting better, he'd know what to say to Hinata in the moments that small back was turned to him.


	3. 39 Days

One of Hinata's new favorite pastimes Kageyama had discovered, was actively hanging out with and talking to the third year Sugawara. Sugawara was probably the most approachable person on the team, or rather the only one that seemed to put an effort into talking to Kageyama about things outside of volleyball.

Sugawara made it a point to greet Kageyama at every morning practice and Kageyama would respond with a stiff nod in response. Ever since Hinata started sticking around he would greet Sugawara too with a chipper 'morning' before launching into an explanation of his day yesterday.

Granted, Sugawara could neither see nor hear Hinata as he followed him around like a puppy, but it proved to be distracting and on more than one occasion Kageyama had almost joined the one-sided conversation Hinata was having with Sugawara.

"You just gotta do what I do," Hinata explained more then once, "Suga is like the nicest person ever just talk to him. I talk to him all the time and he doesn't seem to mind."

"That's because he can't hear you idiot," Kageyama would sneer in response and Hinata would rebuttal with some absurd reasoning like "Well if he could hear me he'd listen to me."

He could be such an idiot sometimes. Didn't he realize how distracting he was? With his flowered up explanations of what he had for dinner the night before – which reminds Kageyama – for a ghost he sure did eat a lot. How that was even possible Kageyama had yet to figure it out, but he wasn't about to question it – Hinata already threw him for a loop enough as it is – he didn't need to be adding some scientific explanations to it.

And for that matter how could Kageyama possibly imitate Hinata? He was certain he would just scare people away more then he already did. Hinata had already told him on more than one occasion that he needed to work on his smiling skills – that he shouldn't smile with teeth it was frightening. And yet Hinata was smiling with his teeth showing all the time and looked super friendly. If he couldn't imitate a smile what makes Hinata think he could imitate his actions and words too?

Just the other day Hinata had thrown open the gym doors and yelled a bright "Good morning everybody!" which had sent everyone into a tizzy about why the doors suddenly flew open like that. And yet for all that it was worth, Kageyama was a hundred percent sure if he threw open the doors and yelled like Hinata had they'd be more frightened by his actions then they had when they thought the gym might be haunted.

"Boo."

Hinata had pouted about their reactions for a solid five seconds before he was scampering off to Sugawara's side once more. A good thing too because if he hadn't run off like he did Kageyama was sure he might have yelled at him and he didn't think him cursing at no one would settle well with the team.

Sometimes Hinata was making things harder than they should be.

"Kageyama~" Hinata sang, sidling up to his side one morning practice.

"What?" he grunted, hand placed over his mouth so he didn't look like he was talking to himself. Earlier this morning Hinata had overheard Noya placating Asashi because he had apparently seen Kageyama muttering to himself and it had scared the glass hearted giant and Hinata had the gall to act like it wasn't his fault Kageyama was seen talking to nothing.

"I think you should ask Suga for some setting tips!"

Kageyama glanced at Hinata, eyebrow raised in incredulity, "Why would I do that?"

"Becauuuuseeee," Hinata whined, "You're always saying you can't talk to people suddenly because you don't want to surprise them. Soooooo~ Just be casual. Ask him about… what kind of tosses everyone on the team likes. I think he'd like it. You know just the other day he was telling Daichi about how he wished you would interact with the team more."

The fact that one-sided Hinata knew his team mates better then he himself did irk him a little bit, but he tried not to let it bother him – Hinata had the unfair advantage of being able to eavesdrop whenever he wanted to.

Though Kageyama couldn't deny the fact that were Hinata living he'd probably have made fast friends with everybody by now.

Hinata, for all his annoying antics – like eating Kageyama out of pocket and home, and distracting him during class – was one of those people who were just friendly. Not too friendly where it made the other person feel uncomfortable, but friendly to the point where Kageyama could open up to him without meaning to. Hinata was that kid who made friends with anyone and everyone and he probably did so without any effort too.

If the others could see Hinata Kageyama had no doubt in his mind that they would have long since accepted him – would have welcomed him to the team like family – would want to hang out with outside of team events.

But the others couldn't see Hinata and Kageyama often thought to himself how awful of a person he must be that Hinata would rather chatter mindlessly at Sugawara then talk to the only person that could hear him. Not that Hinata was to blame, more often than not Kageyama was ignoring him.

"Kageyama~ Earth to Kageyama" Hinata crooned in his ear and Kageyama physically jumped as he was shaken from his thoughts.

"Well? Go talk to him. No need to be shy." Hinata teased lightly, shaking his finger in front of Kageyama's face as he did so.

Kageyama sneered, smacking Hinata's hand out of his face before stiffly standing up from his seated position on the bench – trying and failing not to let Hinata's shit eating grin piss him off.

"I'm not doing this because you told me to" he said – the comment making Hinata's smile widen – before skulking off before Hinata had time to say anything more.

Suga was standing by the net with Yamaguchi, giving the first year some tips when Kageyama approached and Sugawara caught his eye as he stopped a few steps away from where the pair were talking.

"Do you need something Kageyama?" he asked after a moment, politely asking Yamaguchi to excuse him for a second before stepping closer to Kageyama and away from Yamaguchi who was looking a bit frightened.

'It must be my face again,' Kageyama thought, aggressively rubbing his hand down his face to hide his distraught expression.

Sugawara was looking at him expectantly, his usual gentle smile slightly slipping away the longer they stood in silence.

"Kageyama? Are you feeling alright?" he looked concerned, and a quick glance at Yamaguchi showed he was growing concerned too.

'Never mind,' Kageyama wanted to say, thinking about how he should just excuse himself and then run out of the gym.

He probably would have too; run away that is, if Hinata hadn't suddenly stepped up beside him, hand soffly brushing against his own before he was giving him a thumbs up; his usual grin subdued – supportive.

Kageyama stared at Hinata a moment longer before turning back to Suga, his nerves steeled.

"I wanted to ask… What kind of tosses everyone likes."

There was a brief flash of surprise on Sugawara's face before he was smiling widely, "I was just running over the same thing with Yamaguchi."

He glanced at Yamaguchi, beckoning him over so he could come closer and join the conversation.

Hinata nodded to himself, relieved it had gone over so simply, before slipping away to where Nishinoya and Tanaka were messing around.

* * *

During class Hinata sat on his knees beside Kageyama's desk, watching as Kageyama scrawled everything Sugawara had told him at morning practice. Occasionally Hinata would ask a question and Kageyama would write his response on his notes.

They kept that up for maybe fifteen minutes before Kageyama decided he should try to pay attention and Hinata, bored, wandered over to the window where he usually spent most of Kageyama's class time.

From the window he could see the school grounds, the entrance gate, and a decent view of a distant park. It was a pretty standard view Hinata thought, probably something that people didn't look twice at. He imagined other schools has similar setups – Hinata felt like maybe he could have seen a similar view back when he was still living. And yet, the more time he spent looking, the more it seemed as if something were missing. That's not to say that in the past Hinata had seen this exact yard and gate, but he couldn't help but feel that the park past the school gates and road should be a distant flock of trees and the beginnings of a mountain.

It was in quiet moments like this, when Hinata didn't have Kageyama to keep him distracted, that he found himself wondering exactly why he was here. Those first few days he had a strong feeling that he needed to help Kageyama, like a broken record the thought, 'You must prove yourself – a good deed will bring a second chance' ran through his head over and over. And with nothing else to go by, and knowing nothing else, he just went with it.

Even now he still felt strongly that helping Kageyama find friends was the right thing to do; and yet, the more time that passed the more he found himself overwhelmed with thoughts such as, 'How did I end up like this?'

He found he had no trouble accepting that he was some sort of ghost or guardian angel, but the question he was most curious about and yet so frightened of…

"I can't remember" Hinata mumbled to himself. He couldn't remember anything before this and so he found he didn't particularly hold any regrets about being here, but he still wanted to know what it was he had left behind.

And the more he found himself thinking something seemed familiar or felt a strong pull to certain things – like volleyball for instance – the more he yearned to know more. To know why. How.

* * *

At lunch Hinata begged Kageyama to play volleyball with him – something they often did at home in Kageyama's back yard though it wasn't unheard of them for to play at school either. Normally Hinata could easily convince Kageyama to go to a secluded spot where they could play a bit, but today Kageyama was adamantly refusing.

"Tell me why then!" Hinata demanded, stomping his foot in agitation.

Kageyama groaned loudly before huffing and shaking his bangs out of his eyes and then fixing Hinata with a glare, "If you hadn't been off playing with the senpai and instead making sure I wasn't making a fool of myself, then you would know that Sugawara offered to meet me during the lunch hour for more tips on the kind of tosses everyone likes."

Hinata gaped in shock at the sudden progress, before he was launching into a high jump, arms flailing in the air, "Well why didn't you say so?! That's good Kageyama!"

"It's not good at all," Kageyama mumbled under his breath, though Hinata was still able to hear him well enough.

"Don't be nervous," he said, patting Kageyama's shoulder, "I'll stick by you the whole time – like a shadow."

"A talking shadow," Kageyama sounded grumpy when he said it, but Hinata caught the faint lopsided grin on his lips.

"But Suga is really nice huh? How cool of him to take time out of his lunch to help you," Hinata commented off-handedly.

Kageyama blanched, "You're right. He's probably really busy – I should have said no."

"Kageyama its fine. He wouldn't have offered if it was a problem. Just be sure to tell him thank you."

Kageyama still looked like a deer caught in headlights but his shoulders relaxed at Hinata's reassurance.

"Right. Thank you... Tell him thank you."

Hinata beamed up at Kageyama and as he was doing so caught Sugawara heading in their direction from over Kageyama's shoulder, "Alright here he comes. Remember to smile and be nice."

Kageyama jerkily nodded and turned away from Hinata to greet Sugawara with a bow.

"Th-thank you for helping me!"

He could hear Hinata snickering into his hands behind him and he quickly stood up straighter – resisting the urge to turn around and glare at him.

"It's not a problem Kageyama," Sugawara said, moving to take a seat at a nearby bench and motioning for Kageyama to do the same.

"Actually, I'm really glad you asked for my advice. I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that when it comes to technical skill you are way better than me. So it makes me happy that you still value my opinion."

"Yeah." Kageyama didn't know what else to say – of course he looked up to Sugawara. He was disappointed in himself that he hadn't been able to express that clearly.

Sugawara didn't seem to be bothered by Kageyama's lack of response – a good thing too because Kageyama still wasn't good at speaking let alone about mushy things like that.

Sugawara settled more comfortably on the bench, "Now where did we leave off earlier?"

* * *

Hinata watched excitedly from the sidelines during after school practice as Asashi nervously thanked Kageyama for such a great toss – Kageyama looked just as nervous. Of course it wasn't perfect but it was definitely better than it had been in the past weeks. The fact Kageyama couldn't clearly ask for Asashi's preference coupled with the fact that Asahi was too afraid to say anything had made things harder than they should have been.

"He's doing great today," Sugawara commented from where he was standing by Hinata's side and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! It was touch and go for a while there when Asahi kept insisting every toss was fine."

Of course Sugawara didn't respond, not able to hear Hinata but he liked being a part of conversations anyhow.

Kageyama tossed once more and this time when Asahi spiked it over the net Nishinoya was unable to receive the ball in time.

"Nice job Kageyama!"

"Nice job!"

Sugawara and Hinata had yelled at the same time, Hinata enthusiastically waving his arms above his head.

Kageyama turned to look at the call and it was only after he returned the wave and Sugawara repeated the gesture that Kageyama realized he had unconsciously waved at Hinata. His face rapidly burned red and he quickly turned to Asahi to ask how the toss was, embarrassed that he had made Sugawara think he was waving at him.

"He's such a dork," Hinata commeted, amused.

"Kageyama has gotten friendlier," Sugawara mused aloud and Hinata bobbed his head in response, humming in agreement.

"He really has! Treat him well Suga!"

After practice was over and everyone had worked together to clean up the gym – Hinata running alongside Kageyama as he swept, racing the taller boy – Daichi announced he'd treat everyone to meat buns.

"Woo! Free food!" Hinata cheered, smiling at Kageyama who didn't look nearly as excited as he was, "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?"

"I usually don't go to these things," Kageyama mumbled to Hinata under his breath.

"Why not? You're part of the team."

"Yeah but it never really feels like I'm invited."

Hinata frowned, "Of course you're invited Kageyama." The words were said slowly and carefully, as if Kageyama wouldn't understand it otherwise.

Kageyama was quiet, staring down at Hinata somewhat thoughtfully as he tried to think of a way to explain why he felt the way he did, "I just…"

"-Kageyama!" Sugawara yelled from across the gym, where he was standing by Daichi, "Aren't you coming?"

Kageyama genuinely looked shocked and Hinata nudged him in the side with his elbow, "Come on – let's go Kageyama. That sounds like an invite to me."

Kageyama nodded jerkily, unable to stop the faint smile forming at his lips, before lightly jogging over to Sugawara.

Hinata simply shook his head as he trailed behind him – Kageyama really needed to learn how to live a little.


	4. 36 Days

"Kageyama," Hinata sing-songed. He was lying on his side on Kageyama's bed, head resting in his hand and elbow propped up, with his other arm resting on his side, "Wake up Kageyama."

Kageyama groaned in response as he was roused from his sleep, face scrunching up in annoyance before he rolled away to face the wall the best he could in the small shared space. He had always liked to think of himself as somewhat of an early bird, though ever since meeting Hinata he had quickly learned that no, he was not an early bird. Not at all. How Hinata could be so chipper in the morning, after spending who knows how many hours of the night staring out the window, Kageyama would never know.

"Oh Kageyama~" Hinata scooted closer, lightly running a finger along the nape of Kageyama's neck – because he had learned last week just how much the other boy hated that sensation.

Kageyama jerked, trying and failing to keep his full body shudder Hinata had induced under wraps. If he gave Hinata any more reason to believe it bothered him he would keep doing it, and that soft touch against such a sensitive spot made his body squirm in discomfort.

"It's Sunday – let me sleep." Kageyama snapped – if his voice cracked because he just woke up or because of Hinata's touch, he didn't know. He aggressively – as aggressively as one could with half asleep arms – pulled his pillow out from beneath his head so he could use it as a neck shield - in case Hinata tried to keep pestering him.

"Exactly!" Hinata squawked, sitting up and crossing his legs beneath him so he could lean over Kageyama and get him to look at him, "We have that team outing today!"

It had only been a few days, but Kageyama was still shocked by how easily he had been able to get along with Sugawara and by extension the rest of the team. That's not to say Kageyama was now buds with everyone on the team of course. Sugawara was a… friend, Kageyama supposed. Though it certainly didn't feel like it – things still felt shaky between them. Hinata had told him there were many levels of friendship and that just because he and Sugawara weren't going to one another's houses or talking about more than just volleyball and his day, didn't mean they weren't friends.

Despite all the reassuring however, Kageyama still found he stuck out like a sore thumb when it was more than just himself and Sugawara. Hinata told him he needed to make a better effort in joining conversations instead of just waiting for Suga to pull him in, but Kageyama really struggled with expressing himself. He knew how to express himself, he hadn't always been so socially awkward. It was just that he lacked a filter and he was too honest, which that coupled with his blunt nature, tended to make people misunderstand him. He wasn't trying to be mean when he said things like "You aren't good at this," he was only being honesty and his mom had always preached that honesty was the best policy.

Which led him to where he was now, never knowing what to say in fear he might hurt someone's feelings or accidentally start a fight. He had promised Hinata he would do his best to be involved at this team outing though, so it went without saying that he was nervous about this whole thing.

It wasn't like stopping for snacks at the convenience store – which were always short encounters - where Kageyama could get away with not talking because his mouth was full.

"I'm sick" Kageyama groaned after a moment more of Hinata's pestering.

"No you aren't – get up," Hinata poked Kageyama in the side, who opened one eye to look at him before quickly closing it.

"It's true. I have a fever and I don't want to get the team sick."

Hinata huffed, debating on if he should give up or keep pleading. He never really was one for giving up, but what if Kageyama really was sick? Hinata placed his hand on Kageyama's bare arm, shaking him lightly. Kageyama groaned once more, this time opening both his eyes so he could turn his head and glare at Hinata properly, only to flinch in surprise at how close Hinata's face was to his. Before he could question it, Hinata's hand was sliding from his arm to his forehead where he gently but quickly brushed Kageyama's bangs back before placing his forehead against Kageyama's own.

Kageyama found himself blushing at the close proximity – this close he could see the flecks of gold in Hinata's brown eyes and how, despite how pale Hinata was there were little splashes of warm cream colored freckles across the bridge of his nose. To say this was the closest Kageyama had ever been to a person, who wasn't family, would be an understatement.

"Woah Kageyama are you alright? Your face is all hot – you really do have a fever!" Hinata leaned back up so he could get a birds eye view of Kageyama who now, even more embarrassed then he had been few seconds ago, covered his face with his hands and curled up into a fetal position – his knees knocking painfully against the wall.

"I don't have a fever," he admitted, voice muffled from his hands – he was just warm from all the strange thoughts and how close Hinata was, "You're just cold is all."

Hinata stared blankly for a millisecond before he was nodding in understanding, buying the excuse.

"Woah, am I really? Like a ghost? I guess that makes sense. I never noticed it though."

With Hinata fully distracted, Kageyama sat up, hands still covering his face as he did so. Actually, Hinata wasn't cold at all – he felt warm to the touch like you would expect another human to – if he was cold like a ghost Kageyama would have kicked him out of his bed a long time ago.

Hinata was sitting cross legged on the bed now, patting his bare arms and legs, clearly fascinated with the idea that he was cold to the touch.

"Hey Kageyama, do you think I give people cold chills? Do I give you cold chills?!" he sounded more excited than concerned and Kageyama dropped his hands into his lap to look at Hinata who was looking at him eagerly.

"I lied. You aren't cold." Hinata's smile dropped, "And before you insist I do have a fever – it's just cause it's so warm sharing a bed."

"Oooh," Hinata crowed, "Well I'm not sleeping on the floor even if you do get sick. But since you aren't sick – let's get ready to hang out with the team!"

He was already up, so Kageyama guessed there was no use in trying to avoid this any longer. Groaning, Kageyama got up, trudging out of his room and to the bathroom. Hinata jumped up from their bed, before pulling his toothbrush out of Kageyama's bedside drawer – where the grump kept all his volleyball magazines, so Hinata always had to make sure his tooth brush case was dry before putting inside lest he face the wrath of Kageyama.

Kageyama had just squeezed a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on his toothbrush when Hinata got to the bathroom. He extended his brush towards Kageyama who also gave him a pea-sized drop because apparently Hinata used way too much and he should be more precise blah blah Hinata hadn't really been listening.

After their teeth were all brushed they took turns washing their faces and then headed back to Kageyama's room – Kageyama digging for clothes in his closet while Hinata hid his toothbrush again. Once changed – Hinata kicking his feet from his place on the bed – Kageyama grabbed his bag and headed back out of the room, Hinata hopping up and following behind him as he did so.

Kageyama made them toast – Hinata loudly greeting Kageyama's mother – something that ticked Kageyama off because it was "annoying" – before trotting towards the door so Kageyama could kiss his mother's cheek and tell her good morning – something he was too afraid to do in front of Hinata, the big softie.

Once outside, Kageyama passed Hinata his toast before shoving his piece in his mouth.

"The weather's nice today," Hinata chirped, nibbling on his food as they leisurely walked to the train station together. Once Hinata had managed to antagonize him into a race but after being stopped by a local officer in the area who had thought he was a thief, Kageyama stopped the races. Oh well, Hinata supposed.

Over the past week or so, the two of them had developed a bit of a routine – it was only natural, they were sharing a room together all this time after all. The routine however, just came naturally to them. Hadn't taken copious amounts of planning or sacrificing to accommodate one another. Granted, Kageyama hadn't done much adjusting – Hinata had to basically wormed his way into his routine but Kageyama certainly hadn't kicked him to the curb.

Compared to Kageyama, Hinata was a slow eater (which wasn't saying much because when Hinata got hungry he could give Kageyama a run for his money) but he ate a lot in ratio to Kageyama, who while he ate large amounts at each meal, didn't add up to the all-day eating Hinata seemed to engage in. It seemed like Hinata constantly needed to be fed snacks throughout the day to keep him quiet. If Hinata was eating because he actually needed to or just because, Kageyama wasn't sure. What he did know, was that Hinata couldn't make things float around. The things he touched, excluding Kageyama and solid things like Kageyama's bed or desk, stayed untouched as if Hinata wasn't there. Why that was or how that was, neither of them could say for sure. When Hinata held small objects like food it seemed like they just disappeared, though Kageyama could still see them as if everything about Hinata was normal.

One day in the park Hinata had deliberately taken a chip out of Kageyama's chip bag while people were in the general area and no one seemed alarmed. They didn't dare test Kageyama handing him some though, in fear people would thing Kageyama could do magic or something when the chip would surely disappear as Hinata came into contact with it.

With volleyball, Hinata could interact with it, but it wasn't like the ball disappeared like food does. In fact, a small kid had seen them tossing the ball back and forth, or saw the ball at least, and had – in awe – asked Kageyama how he was able to do that – if it was a boomerang ball and if he could try it. Kageyama had been so embarrassed he'd just ran away – Hinata still teased him about it sometimes.

* * *

The train ride to the city was a pretty short one – though half of it was spent with Hinata on his lap when the car got a little crowded. Sugawara and Daichi were at the station when they arrived and Hinata ran up to them – practically chirping at them in greeting. They were standing too closely together for Hinata to wedge himself between them so he glued himself to Sugawara's side – intently listening to their conversation. A second later they spotted Kageyama – Sugawara waving with a friendly smile and Daichi nodding his head in greeting.

"Good morning Kageyama," Daichi greeted.

Sugawara was looking down at his phone, Hinata watching as he quickly sent a reply.

"M-morning" was Kageyama's stiff reply. He lowered his gaze to his shoes and Hinata scolded him and told him to greet others more cheerily.

Sugawara looked up from his phone, "I didn't see you get off the train Kageyama, did you just get here?"

"Uhh… Yes," was his eloquent reply - Sugawara simply nodded in response.

"Well Ennoshita said Tanaka and Nishinoya just showed up at the square but he hasn't seen Yamaguchi or Tsukishima yet."

"Should we head over then?" Daichi asked, shuffling a bit as if he were antsy to go.

"We can – as soon as Asahi gets back from the bathroom."

To Kageyama's confusion, Daichi visibly wilted and Hinata snickered into his hand. His face must have showed his confusion because Hinata said, "I think Daichi was trying to ditch Asahi on purpose."

Why he would do that Kageyama didn't know – again something that must have showed on his face because Hinata continued, "He's just trying to mess with him – I'm not sure why but Daichi seems to like to mess with Asahi a lot."

Kageyama could honestly say that was something he hadn't noticed. To say that he didn't pay attention was far from the truth, but he – admittedly – misconstrued things more often than not. It was why he was the way he was. Since he struggled so much with expressing himself, he often had trouble identifying others intentions. Hinata didn't seem to notice his lack of social understanding but he seemed to pick up things Kageyama would have never spotted in a million years. It was part of the reason he could be a "genius setter" and yet struggled with setting to his teammates. He knew what kind of toss he needed to win and how to toss that winning toss, but he couldn't for the life of himself, figure out what toss it was that the person hitting it needed in order to win. At least, not yet. He was sure once he knew all of his team mates preferences then he would be able to do it.

The point was, though Kageyama had known his teammates a lot longer than Hinata had, Hinata seemed to understand them a lot better than Kageyama believed he ever could. He didn't think it was due to a lack of effort on his part and a part of Kageyama felt bitter that things were as they were and yet simultaneously he felt grateful that Hinata was there to help him. So what if Hinata had better social understandings than Kageyama did, what mattered is that he was on his team.

Kageyama lagged behind the three as they made their way closer to the bathrooms, Hinata walking ahead with the other two.

Asashi came out of the bathroom seconds later and Kageyama greeted him stiffly – Asashi greeting him back even quieter than Kageyama had greeted him in the first place.

"Asashi looks like a bear," Hinata was saying, whispering as if the others could hear him, "But really he's a mouse."

Even Kageyama knew that.

* * *

Kageyama couldn't remember the last time he had gone into town – he never was one for crowds, unless of course those crowds were in a gym and there was a volleyball somewhere in the vicinity, preferably in his hands. Still, even though it had been quite some time, everything still looked the same. With the exception of some new stores replacing some older ones.

Ennoshita and the others were sitting on the ledges of the fountain smack dab in the center of the shopping square – the former trying to keep Tanaka and Nishinoya in check.

Hinata was oohing and aahing at every little thing as they made their way to them – every little store window display seeming to catch his eye.

"This place is so cool," Hinata chirped, trying to calm down a bit, as he suddenly had an urge to run into each and every store to check it out. Kageyama simply grunted in agreement, only half listening to Hinata, unable to block out Nishinoya's boisterous chatter.

"Alright," Daichi began, "Looks like everyone but Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are here."

"Yamaguchi just texted me, " Sugawara interjected, bumping his shoulder against Daichi's beforehand, so as to not rudely interrupt, "They'll be here any minute."

The conversation quickly dissolved into conversations, some loud and quick - and others soft and slow. For Kageyama, it was overwhelming to say the least, because he hadn't the slightest idea on which conversation he should try to join or even how to go about joining. Honestly, he was afraid to join – what if they thought he was rude for butting in? Or he made things awkward? Deep down he knew that wouldn't be the case, but it was enough to make him hesitate.

"Psst," Hinata whispered at his side, none too gently jabbing him in the side, "Daichi is alone right now – go talk to him."

"What? No," Kageyama hissed through clenched teeth – eyes darting to where Daichi was standing a ways off from the group – Kageyama assumed he was convincing himself to not snap at Nishinoya and Tanaka who were beginning to get rowdy.

"Come on Kageyama – Daichi is the captain so you need to get along with him and it'll be like an all kill because Tanaka and the others really respect Daichi and so if you get his respect then you'll get theirs too!"

Hinata smiled up at Kageyama – it was the smile he did when he thought he'd made a solid argument – not that he really needed an argument, Kageyama knew he had to get along with more than just Suga - that is if he could call their small conversations over the past couple of days getting along.

Granted, Hinata had yet to lead him astray so far, so Kageyama supposed he should just go along with it. His decision must have been written across his forehead in bold red letters because Hinata started to whoop before the word 'okay' could even leave Kageyama's mouth.

Hinata turned away from him, presumably about to dart off like he always did and Kageyama didn't even have time to think before he was reaching for Hinata's hand and pulling him back before he got out of reach. Worried he would look strange to the others – what with his arm extended out for seemingly no reason – Kageyama quickly shoved his and Hinata's hand into his jacket pocket and made an effort to look resolutely forward and ignore Hinata whose head was cocked to the side as he stared up at Kageyama in confusion.

It was for moral support Kageyama had told himself, but he wouldn't say it aloud. Because admitting that having Hinata by his side helped him relax would be more embarrassing then making a fool of himself in front of Daichi, because at least Kageyama didn't have to see the captain at home.

Kageyama gripped Hinata's hand tighter as Hinata settled against his side, Kageyama assumed for his own comfort. Hinata's hand was small, dainty even, and yet solid and firm - a welcoming sensation as Kageyama feared he'd crush Hinata's tiny hand in his as he steeled his nerves.

"Good morning Captain," Kageyama greeted, bowing slightly as he did so – Hinata thoughtlessly repeating the gesture.

Daichi didn't seem all too surprise by the greeting – simply nodding and replying, "Morning," with a smile. They'd already said morning to each other earlier, which was embarrasing, but before Kageyama could panic, Hinata gently squeezed his hand - reassuring him.

"Wh-what's on today's schedule?" Kageyama stuttered out, his question earning him a raised eyebrow from the Captain.

"Well, once the other first years get here we'll hit up all the sports shop, eat, talk strategy, and then go our separate ways. We don't really have a game plan. The gym is closed today so we're all just hanging out. Team bonding as Suga put it."

Kageyama slowly nodded, and Hinata said from his side, "See Kageyama? No big deal. It's just a day for fun. You can talk to everyone today."

* * *

Kageyama, in fact, did not talk to everyone – not that he had been planning to. He was positive he would implode before he was ever that social all in one sitting. The day was not quite awkward, but Kageyama felt out of place most of the day. He enjoyed listening to everyone talk – except for Tsukishima and Kageyama couldn't for the life of him understand why someone like Yamaguchi would want to hang out with the guy.

Hinata seemed to have fun more than Kageyama had and when Kageyama wasn't bumbling through small talk with Suga and Daichi, Hinata was off joining in on the other's antics – well trying to the best he could with his one-sided interactions. Kageyama supposed Hinata wasn't much better off than him – sure Hinata was better at socializing, but no matter how much Hinata engaged with the other's it was as if he wasn't even there. It didn't seem to bother Hinata though, which was an amazing feat to Kageyama – he might be awkward and have a scary face but at least he could hold conversations with others. He might have felt bad for Hinata but since it didn't seem to bother Hinata he figured it shouldn't bother him either.

Still though, he'd wished Hinata would spend a little more time talking to him – Kageyama wasn't as exciting as his teammates – but he'd at least be able to reply to whatever Hinata had to say.

* * *

Whoops, sorry for the long delay. I had a hell of a time writing this chapter. Honestly I've been working on it for months it was that bad. Hopefully, and I'm putting a lot of emphasis on hopefully, I'll be able to update more frequently since I got past this chapter. Hopefully. :(

But hey, at least this chapter was a bit longer than the last few ones. That's always a plus right?


	5. 28 Days

The windows in the library are large, the sill wide enough for someone to sit on (though people probably weren't supposed to), and for the past few days Hinata had found himself sitting here every afternoon. The view from the library window is of the baseball field and while Hinata wasn't very interested in baseball, it was better than sitting with Kageyama while he tried to study.

Currently, Kageyama was sitting with Yamaguchi at the table closest to the window Hinata was perched at

Yamaguchi is humble or maybe he lacks in confidence but he is smart, not as smart as Tsukishima but leaps and bounds ahead of Kageyama. Last week Hinata had suggested Kageyama try to get closer to the other first years – Kageyama refused to interact with Tsukishima – not that Hinata could blame him – and had not really been thrilled with hanging with someone who put Tsukishima of all people on a pedestal like Yamaguchi seemed to.

* * *

Hinata was sprawled out on Kageyama's bed, alternating between rolling on to his side with a moan and flopping onto his back with a whine.

"I'm so bored," was the latest whine Hinata let out as he rolled onto his stomach once more. Kageyama was sitting at his desk, aggressively erasing the entirety of his paper. Kageyama wasn't normally good at ignoring Hinata but today's homework must be extra hard.

"You'll tear a hole through your paper," Hinata sing-songed, hands propped under his chin and legs swishing back and forth behind him as he stared at Kageyama's back that stiffened ever so slightly before he resumed his vigorous erasing. It only took three more aggressive swipes of the eraser before there was the telltale sound of paper ripping and Kageyama was whipping around in his swivel chair to glare at Hinata. Hinata was positive that had Kageyama's parents not been home he would have yelled at him – not that Hinata minded because arguing with Kageyama could be fun.

"Kageyama!" Hinata was quick at getting a word in before Kageyama could, "Let's go play volleyball!" Kageyama never turned down volleyball.

"Not today." Or at least Hinata thought he'd never turn it down.

To say Hinata was astonished would be an understatement, here Kageyama was, the only other person Hinata knew that loved volleyball as much as himself (to be fair it's not like Hinata knew anyone anymore) was saying no to volleyball and yes to – of all things – studying. The world might as well be ending if it's come to this.

Hinata only allowed himself a second of confusion before jumping straight into questioning, "But why?" he whined despite himself – and could you really blame him?

Kageyama just sighed, a heavy puff of air that seemed to add a backtrack to the way Kageyama's shoulders were slowly slumping in defeat – like a balloon deflating. Kageyama stopped erasing.

"It's not like I want to study dumbass," Kageyama snapped, and wow was that dumbass completely unnecessary in Hinata's opinion, "It's just that… if I fail this test I'll seriously be in trouble."

The confession was said under his breath, the quietness of his voice jarring to Hinata's ears when he was used to Kageyama just yelling at him all the time. It wasn't often that Kageyama displayed any sort of weakness. Sure he had his fair share of flaws that he couldn't hide but those were usually coated in a thick layer of anger to mask any sort of insecurity he might have.

Hinata frowned, not liking this new put out Kageyama that turned down volleyball and looked at math like it had just stabbed and deflated his favorite volleyball or something.

"Well," Hinata offered tentatively after a beat of silence, "Why don't you just ask someone for help?" to Hinata that seemed like the obvious solution but Kageyama's red face said otherwise.

"I can't." was the clipped response.

"And why not?" was Hinata's rebuttal.

"Because!" for the briefest of moment's angry Kageyama was back before he was taking another deep breath, clenching and unclenching his hands at his desk as he did so, "… Because I'll look like an idiot and it's not like I have anyone to ask, I can't ask Sugawara-san or Daichi-san because they're upper classmen and they have their own studies to deal with and I don't have any friends in class and I definitely can't ask the teacher so I have to just study! On my own!"

It was honest to God probably the longest Hinata had ever heard Kageyama speak and when he was done with his semi-rant he gasped for breath as if he were winded and unclenched his hands, color bleeding into his knuckles from where they had gone white from him clenching them.

Hinata bit his lip, debating on what to say before tentatively offering advice, "You know… you don't have to do everything by yourself and asking for help isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"That's easy for you to say," Kageyama grumbled, if there was any deeper meaning to that Hinata didn't know and honestly he didn't really care to.

"It's true though and you know what this is actually the perfect opportunity."

"The perfect opportunity for what?"

"To make friends! Why don't you ask Yamaguchi and Tsukishima? Err… well maybe not Tsukishima but I bet Yamaguchi would help you if you'd just ask. People have study groups all the time it's not big thing!"

* * *

In the face of failure, as much as Kageyama wanted to argue he couldn't really afford to which is why Hinata found himself spending so much time in the library the past week. Kageyama had been such a mess the first time him and Yamaguchi met to study but Hinata was glad to see Kageyama had warmed up to Yamaguchi who in turn seemed to return the sentiment. So yeah, it was a job well done on Hinata's side – he'd gotten Kageyama to hang out with a teammate and improve his math score but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't dying or boredom. It's not like he could bother Kageyama while he was studying and so he'd been forced to keep himself occupied on his own.

Hinata was sure by now that in his past life he must have been a people person because going so long without bothering Kageyama and getting some attention from his was the absolute worse. How Kageyama made it so long without friends was beside him.

However it is on one of these many days as he waits for Kageyama to finish up in the library that it occurs to him they are officially one stop closer to completing his mission. Surely Yamaguchi would want Kageyama and Tsukishima to get along and once the first years were getting along then the rest of it would fall naturally. Making friends was like riding a bike, it was hard at first but once you got the hang of it you'd find yourself speeding along just fine – the training wheels off before you'd even know it.

* * *

The night before Kageyama's big test Hinata found himself lying on Kageyama's bed, holding the notecards Yamaguchi had made above his face – rattling off names of equations he'd never even heard off and loudly congratulating Kageyama every time he got one right. The thing was Kageyama could do the problems just fine and as long as he didn't mess up the formula or forget something Hinata and Yamaguchi were sure he'd do great.

Hinata was sure he didn't like math but he didn't mind doing this – it was cute the way Kageyama smiled every time he got one right – it was funny, when Kageyama wasn't trying he could smile just fine. Now if there was just some way to teach Kageyama that he would be set. The practice smiles they had been doing in the mirror needed some serious work.

When Kageyama was sure he had everything they got ready for bed right away – Kageyama not wanting to do anything else lest he forget everything they'd practiced for the past two hours. Hinata was sure Kageyama wouldn't forget but he wasn't going to push.

As they lie in bed, Hinata on his back and Kageyama on his side facing away from Hinata, he wondered about what it was like… what it had been like. Had Hinata stressed himself out before tests like Kageyama did or was he confident and at ease? It was crazy how well Hinata knew himself at one moment and at others felt like was a stranger to himself.

When Kageyama's breathing steadied out and Hinata was sure he wouldn't wake him he sat up in bed, making his way to the window. For as bored as he was staring out the library windows the past week, he enjoyed looking out at the moon at night.

At night the tree's leaves were an inky black blending into the night in a way that it was almost hard to tell where the sky ended and the world began. Hinata felt like that. Everything was a blur and everything was so dark. He'd been so focused at first, on finding Kageyama friends and completing his mission to what… become an angel? To move on to the afterlife? Hinata wasn't sure. He felt it so deeply, the pull to help, and while knowing nothing he found he had this knowledge, this memory that helping Kageyama was what he needed to do to set things right. And he wanted that. To set things right. Helping others to help himself.

But then there were these moments, when the sky was clear and the moon shone through the leaves, washing everything in an almost ethereal hue, little sparkles of clarity that danced through the windblown leaves that shook Hinata to the very core.

What was it he was leaving behind?

What was it on the other side of the trees, what lay in that glistening light that bled through the inky darkness of the night and left Hinata feeling so forlorn and yet awestruck at the beauty of it all?

Here he was, stuck in a world where he had only one companion, not even himself at his side, and his goal was to leave all this.

He yearned for what the future would bring, what it would be like once he passed on, and yet he ached for what lie just beyond the distance, what the past held and what it would tightly hold onto – a secret, a life that was no longer his.

Thinking about it made him sad and so when the clouds rolled in and the darkness seeped into the moonlight Hinata figured it was best to keep looking forward. No matter how brightly the moon shone through the trees, no matter how breathtaking and captivating life on the other side was, in the end there was nothing more familiar than what he had right here in this moment.

Darkness, but familiarity, and a deep seated pull, like a cord being plucked from his bellybutton that told him moving forward and moving on was what was right.

All he had was now, and the promise of what fulfilling Kageyama';s wish would bring.

* * *

Hinata couldn't stop shaking as he stood by Kageyama's side, waiting for the tests to be handed back. He'd been so sure Kageyama had done great yesterday but today the teacher talked about how people hadn't done as well on this test as they had the last one. In short it was hard – harder than everyone had anticipated. He was probably more nervous than Kageyama and that was saying something since Kageyama looked like he might implode from how long he'd been holding his breath.

In fact, Hinata was just starting to worry for Kageyama's health when the teacher called his name and Hinata's nerves tittered away with a laugh as Kageyama shot up from his desk so fast his chair fell backwards – if Kageyama's face had been red before it was nothing compared to how red he was from the embarrassment. He muttered a quick apology before picking his chair up and all but racing to the front to get his test – Hinata quickly trailing behind him – anxious to see Kageyama's score.

"Congratulations Kageyama," the teacher said, a smile on her face as she handed him his test to Kageyama who took it with shaking hands, a bright red double digit number smiling him in the face as he took it from her.

It wasn't an A but considering how badly everyone seemed to do this time around, it was equivalent to passing with flying colors for Kageyama.

"Kageyama!" Hinata practically screeched, "You did it!" and if Kageyama stumbled on his way back to his desk Hinata would blame it on Kageyama's balance and not the fact that Hinata had all but thrown himself at it.

* * *

After school Kageyama approached Yamaguchi with his test who genuinely congratulated him on a job well done – the interaction drawing their fellow teammates who excluding Tsukishima had heatedly congratulated him as well.

"This calls for a celebration!" Tanaka yelled, already reaching for his shirt to rip it off before Daichi was quickly cutting in, "We can celebrate later – but first practice."

Nishinoya was the only one that boo'ed before they all scattered – Kageyama going to put his test back in his bag and Yamaguchi over to Tsukishima's side – Hinata trailing after.

"Man Yamaguchi I can't thank you enough – for being a great tutor and a friend to Kageyama," Hinata said, not at all minding that Yamaguchi couldn't hear him, "You guys should do study groups more often."

"Thanks again Tsuki" Yamaguchi said as he reached Tsukishima's side, Hinata watching curiously.

"For what?" Tsukishima grumbled to which Yamaguchi simply nudged him in the side.

"For making that study guide for Kageyama – honestly I don't think I'd have been enough help. He seems really happy so thanks again."

Hinata gasped, hands over his mouth as he watched the slightest dusting of pink grace Tsukishima's cheeks, "Whatever. Just don't tell anyone I made it."

"Okay Tsuki."

"Kageyama!" Hinata screeched, already racing towards Kageyama who had jumped at his voice, "You'll never guess what I found out! Tsukishima's a tsundere!"


End file.
